The doctoral course in Industrial engineering at UFBA had its ideological genesis in 2004 in part of its current group of teachers, as a way to enable creation of the first PhD in engineering at Polytechnic School of UFBA. At the beginning of the year 2005, this group of teachers of the EP, with a strong vocation for the application of scientific and technological research in industrial problems, elaborated the project of the program, bringing together the teachers of EP with such characteristics, allied to a significant scientific and technological production. In 2006 the doctoral project in Industrial Engineering was submitted and approved by CAPES. During this period (2004-2006), professors of the future program elaborated and approved several projects to support the strengthening of infrastructure to support the initiative, having been approved and applied resources of the order of 1.5 million reais for This specific purpose, in funding from CNPq and FAPESB (Foundation for research support of state of Bahia).
The doctoral course in Industrial engineering began in the second half of 2007, with the entry of 13 students, and 13 students were selected for entry in the first semester of 2008. In addition to initiating its operation and consolidation, the year 2007 was marked by several initiatives of growth of the program and collaboration of PEI in order to consolidate and strengthen the graduate degree in EP-UFBA as a whole. In this way, the following actions are noteworthy:
- Incorporation into the program of 3 lato sensu specialization courses already existing in the unit, with full adherence to research lines and to focuses of the program, and coordinated by professors linked to PEI, namely: specialization Course in Industrial automation with emphasis on informatics, instrumentation, control and optimization of continuous processes (CICOP); Specialization course in Natural Gas Engineering (CEEGAN); Specialization course in environmental management and technologies in process – productive – emphasis on clean production (TECLIM-ESP);
- Creation of specialization course in economic engineering, Strategy and Loss Prevention in Industry (CEPI);
- Elaboration of projects and submission to CAPES of academic and professional masters in Industrial Engineering, with incorporation of the professional master in Management and Environmental Technologies in Production Process (MEPLIM) to PEI.
The year 2008 initially comprised incorporation of MEPLIM, which became administratively and Pedagogically managed by the PEI, which thus absorbed all the history and the burdens of this course, until the year 2009 when the last defenses of Dissertation. In 16/09/2008, the academic and professional Masters courses in Industrial Engineering were approved by CTC/CAPES. Given the significant demand of the local community, the academic master's degree in Industrial Engineering completed its first selection, with the entry of 10 regular students, already in 10/10/2008 and the course activities, therefore, started in October 2008. In August 2009 we had the beginning of the first class of the professional Master's course.
In the year 2009, in its 2nd year of existence, the PEI held its first defense of doctoral thesis, or first work of completion referring to the doctoral course, presented by the student Gloria Meyberg Nunes Costa, held on September 25, 2009.
In the year 2010, before the academic master completed the 2nd year, PEI had its first master dissertation defense, presented by student Márcio André Fernandes Martins, held on July 08, 2010.